Woman must pay back $14K she stole from the families of Lake CDA crash victims

A judge has ordered her to pay all of the money back plus fees and restitution. She was also credited with one day already served in jail.

Author:
Amanda Roley , KREM

Published:
2:37 PM PDT November 1, 2017

Updated:
6:57 PM PDT November 1, 2017

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The woman accused of stealing thousands from a memorial fund for the families who lost their two sons in a boat crash was sentenced Wednesday afternoon.

Katie Rafter was convicted of stealing $14,000 from a GoFundMe account. The funds, originally nearly $30,000, were supposed to be evenly split by the two families in December 2016. A judge has ordered her to pay all of the money back plus fees and restitution. She was also credited with one day already served in jail.

Investigators said she was in charge of managing the fund set up in honor of Justin Honken and Justin Luhr. The two young men and Caitlin Breeze were killed back in July 2016 when another boat slammed into their parked boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene near Threemile Point.

Families of the victims said they originally appreciated her generosity, but several months later became suspicious.When authorities began to look into the case, they discovered Rafter had taken out thousands of dollars, including a money order for $4,000 that she used as a down payment on a tanning business.